Socket wrench having screw or nut-holding means



July 10, 1956 c. T. BROWN 2,753,747

WRENCH HAVING SCREW OR NUT-HOLDING MEANS Filed May 11, 1954 SOCKET INVENTOR Chauncey 7.8mm; i /c ,9 TTO/PNE Y nited States Patent SOCKET WRENCH HAVING SCREW OR NUT-HOLDING MEANS Chauncey T. Brown, Seattle, Wash, assignor to Spring Load Manufacturing Corporation, Seattle, Wash., a corporation of Washington Application May 11, 1954, Serial No. 429,011

3 Claims. (Cl. 81-125) This invention relates to a socket wrench having screw and nut-holding means connected therewith.

An object of this invention is to provide a socket wrench which has spring-retracted holding means cooperating with the socket thereof to hold a screw or nut which is to be inserted in or removed from a location difiicult of access thus relieving the operator of the neoessity of manually holding the screw or nut and greatly facilitating the insertion or removal of the same.

Another object is to construct a socket wrench which provides for universal tilting movement of the head of a screw within the socket of the wrench and thereby makes possible smooth operation of the wrench while imparting rotation to a screw or nut which is not in alignment with the axis of the wrench.

Another object is to provide a socket wrench of screw driver type which is particularly well adapted for use in inserting sink-rim clamp screws used in places diflicult of access in the installation of sinks.

Other objects are to provide a socket wrench which is simple and durable in construction, reliable and eificient in operation, not expensive to manufacture and one which is well adapted for use on screws and nuts in locations inaccessible to ordinary tools.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is an elevation of a socket wrench constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on a larger scale than Fig. 1 and with parts in elevation, showing a fragment of the shank of this wrench together with the socket and springactuated holding means carried by said shank.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the wrench applied to a screw and with the screw tilted at an angle to the axis of the wrench.

Fig. 4 is a detached view in front elevation of a holding member used on the wrench.

Fig. 5 is a view partly in plan and partly in section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a detached side elevation, with parts in section of a holding member of modified form.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view, with a fragment of a shank in elevation, and showing a socket of a type particularly adapted for use on nuts.

Like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views.

This socket wrench comprises a shank 10 having a handle 11 rigidly mounted on one end and a socket member 12 rigidly mounted on the other end thereof. A recess or socket 13 to receive a screw head or a nut is provided in the socket member 12 in axial alignment with the shank 10. An axially positioned rounded abutment or thrust member 14 protrudes from the bottom of the socket 13 into said socket and terminates a substantial distance from the outer end of the socket. One practical way of forming the abutment member 14 is to fit the socket member 12 over the outer end of the shank ice 10 and allow the shank to protrude into the socket 13. When the tool is made this way the socket member may be rigidly secured to the shank 10 by pressing it onto the end of said shank and riveting or peening at the location where the shank protrudes into the socket 13.

The device for holding the screw or nut is carried by the shank 10. it comprises a sleeve 15 slidable on the shank 10, a band 16 encircling said sleeve 15, an arm 17 rigid with the band 16 and extending outwardly therefrom past the socket member 12 and a forked end portion or foot member 18 rigid with perpendicular to the arm 17, said forked end portion or foot member having two spaced toes 19 with a U-shaped opening 20 between them. The foot member 18 and toes 19 extend across the outer end of the socket member 12. A compression spring 21 is disposed on the shank 10 between the socket member 12 and the sleeve 15 and exerts a yielding pressure on the sleeve 15 which tends to draw the foot member 18 and its toes 19 against the end of the socket member 12.

The sleeve 15 spaces the arm 17 away from the shank 10 so that there is ample clearance for the spring 21 between these parts. Preferably the upper and lower extremities of the band 16 are swaged inwardly over the ends of the sleeve 15.

Fig. 6 shows a modified form of holding device in which an arm 17' corresponding to the arm 17 is welded or soldered or otherwise secured to the exterior of a sleeve 15' and the band 16 is dispensed with. This simplifies construction.

In using this socket wrench to insert a screw 22 in an inaccessible location, the screw-holding device is manually pushed outward against the pressure of the spring 21 far enough to allow a screw head 23 to be slipped into the space between the socket member 12 and the toes 19, the shank of the screw being received in the U- shaped notch 20. When the manually applied force compressing the spring 21 is released the screw head 23 will be pressed into the socket 13 and against the abutment member 14 and the screw 22 will be firmly held and unless said screw is tilted sidewise it will normally be held substantially in alignment with the shank 10. The socket 113 is non-circular and will usually be hexagonal in shape because screws are commonly provided with hexagonal heads. Obviously the shape of the socket 13 may be varied to conform to screw heads of different shapes.

The socket 13 is slightly oversize as compared to the size of the screw head it is designed to fit and this allows the screw head to have a universal tilting movement within the socket 13 while the screw is being turned by rotation of the socket. Thus provision is made for imparting rotation to a screw which has its axis inclined relative to the axis of the shank 10.

The provision of the abutment member 14 makes this socket wrench operate much more smoothly when it is operating with the screw inclined at a substantial angle relative to the shank 10. This is because the thrust is exerted against the approximate center of the screw head through the centrally positioned rounded end of the abutment member 14 rather than being exerted against an ofi-center part of the screw head as it would be if the screw head rested against the flat bottom wall of the socket 13. In practice it has been found that fairly smooth operation of the wrench is provided as long as the angle of the screw relative to the shank 10 is not in excess of fifteen degrees. Operation at angles greater than fifteen degrees is possible but is not as smooth as it is at the lesser angles.

The pull exerted by the spring 21 through the toes 13 against a screw head 23 will be borne by the centrally positioned abutment member 14 and the resistance offered by the spring 21 to the turning of a disaligned screw will be less-than it would be if the abutment member were omitted.

In the structure shown in Fig. 7 the abutment member is omitted and this allows more room for the end of a bolt when this wrench is being used to turn a nut, the structure of Fi 7' being particularly adapted for use on nuts.

It will be understood that a washer orlike device may beplaoed on the screw 22 before this wrench is engaged therewith and that the foot li and its toes 15' may be hooked overthe washer or like device.

When. a screw is threaded into any object by the use or this wrenchthe foot member ib and toes will be between the screw head 23- and the object into which the screw is threaded. Thusitwill. be seen that this wrench must" beremoved from thescrewhefore the foot and toes 1 9 are clamped between the screw head and the object-1 The wrench is easily removed from a screw, before the foot 18 and toes 19 are thus clamped, by pulling outward on the shank lose as to compress the spring 21 and free the screw head 23 from the socket 113 and then pressin'g sidew-ise ontheshank it} to release the foot 11% and toes 19 from engagement with the screw. Since in the installation of sinks it is desirable to leave the screws unti'ghtened and not jammed against the parts they hold, the foot 18 and toes 19 act as a gauge to pre vent the screws from being jammed too tight. in instances where jamming of the screws or nuts against the members-held thereby is required another wrench without any holding means is used for final tightening.

The foregoing description and accompanying drawings clearly disclose a preferred embodiment of this invention but it will be understood that changes in the same may be made within the scope of the following clain" I claim:

1. In a socket'wrench, a shank having a handle on one end thereof; a socket member rigid with the other end of said shank and having therein a non-circular screwhead receivingsocket in axial alignment with the shank; anaxial screw-head abutment member of a height substantially less than the depth of said socket protruding from the bottomof the socket into said socket and having a rounded outer end providing a rounded support and thrust-member'for tilting engagement by a screw head in said socket; a holding device slidably supported on said shank and having a forked" end portion extending across the outer end of said socket member and fittting over a screw shank andengaging" a screw head positioned in the socket; and a spring yieldingly engaging the holding device whereby the forked end portion thereof is urged toward the socket member.

2. A socket wrench for use on a screw having a hexagonal head, comprising a shank having a handle on one end thereof; asocketmember rigid with the other end portion of said shank and axially aligned with the shank and having a hexagonal socket which is oversize relative to the headset screws to be turned by the wrench providing for turning screws which are substantially inclined relative to the shank; an axial screw-head abutment member of a height: substantially less than the depth of said socket protruding from the bottom of the socket into said socket and providing asupport and thrust member for tilting engagement by the medial portion of a screw head in said socket; a holding device slidably supported on said shank and having a forked'end portion extending across the outer end of said socket member and positioned to fit over a screw shank and engage a screw head positioned in the socket; anda spring yieldingly urging the holding device toward the handle of the wrench.

3. In a tool for holding and turning a screw, a shank having a handle on one end thereof; a socket member rigid with the'other endof said shank and having therein a screw-head-receivingsocket in axial alignment with said shank; a sleeve slidable on-said shank; an arm attached to said sleeve and extending past said socket member; a forked foot having twospaced toe members extending substantially at right angles from the outer end portion of said arm across the outer end of said socket; an axial screw-head-engaging member protruding from the bottom of said socket into the socket and positioned to receive the thrust of a screw head in the socket; and a compression spring onsaid shank between said socket member and said sleeve yieldingly urging said toe members toward said socket;

References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS l,334,261t Robuset all Mar. 16, 1920 l,478,736 Gadberry Dec. 25, 1923 1,513,406 Lipscomb Oct. 28, 1924 1,558,267 McGuckin. Oct. 20, 1925 FOREIGN PATENTS 377,148 France July 2, 1907 

